"She woke up and found something furry on her head that was biting her face," said Jen Bowles, the daughter of 73-year-old Virginia Ballou, who's lived at her home in Hingham for more than 20 years. "It seems like something that would never happen."

Virginia's house has a pet door in the back to allow her cat, Pretty Boy, to come and go as he chooses.

The raccoon had sauntered in from the woods sometime overnight, meandered through the kitchen and bathroom, and eventually found his way into the warmth of her bed.

"She just reached and tried to pry it off, was unable to do so because it had a very firm grip on her mouth," Bowles said. "She finally was able to use her hands to pry its jaws apart, threw it on the ground; that's when she first realized it was a raccoon.

"She used her landline telephone to smash it on the head. It ran out of the bedroom; she closed her door and called 911."

Hingham Animal Control Officer Leslie Badger rushed to the scene and helped subdue the raccoon, already netted by an Environmental Police officer.

"This is a first, to have a situation like this happen," Badger told NewsCenter 5 on Thursday.

She had to euthanize the female adolescent, which was about the size of a cat. Authorities then test samples from the brain to check for rabies.

This raccoon tested positive, and Virginia was pretty well roughed up.

"She has a laceration on her lip into her chin that required 10 stitches," Jen said of her mother, who didn't want to speak on camera. "She has puncture wounds on her thumbs and couple of fingers, and she has some scratches on her head and neck."

Virginia will now have to go through a series of rabies shots. She has already received five of them Wednesday night at South Shore Hospital, and will have to go back for several more.

A HINGHAM WOMAN IS ATTACKED BY A RABID RACCOON IN HER BEDROOM. SHE REACHED OUT TO PET WHAT SHE THOUGHT WAS HER CAT AND GOT A HORRIBLE SURPRISE. LIAM MARTIN LIVE WITH THE WAY THE CRAFTY ANIMAL GOT INTO THE HOUSE. IT GOT IN WITHIN THE PET DOOR. THE NOW EUTHANIZED RACCOON HAS TESTED POSITIVE FOR RABIES. SHE WOKE UP AND FOUND SOMETHING FURRY ON HER HEAD THAT WAS BITING HER FACE. THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES. JEN'S MOTHER HAS LIVED IN THIS HOUSE FOR MORE THAN 20 YEARS AND WOKE UP TO SOMETHING IN HER BED. IT WAS NO BIGGER THAN THIS. 73-YEAR-OLD, VIRGINIA THOUGHT IT WAS HER CAT, PRETTY BOY. SHE WASN'T SO LUCKY. AND REACHED AND TRIED TO PRY IT OFF AND WAS UNABLE TO DO SO BECAUSE IT HAD A FIRM GRIP ON HER MOUTH AND WAS ABLE TO USE HER HANDS TO PRY ITS JAWS APART AND THREW IT ON THE GROUND AND THAT IS WHEN SHE REALIZED IT WAS A RACCOON. A RACCOON. IT HAD WANDERED IN FROM THE WOODS BEHIND THE HOME RIGHT THROUGH HER CAT DOOR AND EVENTUALLY INTO HER BED. TO USE HER LAND LINE TELEPHONE TO SMASH IT ON THE HEAD AND IT RAN OUT OF THE BEDROOM AND SHE CLOSED THE DOOR AND CALLED 911. THIS IS A FIRST I THINK TO HAVE A SITUATION LIKE THIS HAPPEN. THE VICTIM WAS ROUGHED UP. SHE HAS A LACERATION ON HER LIP INTO HER CHIN THAT REQUIRED 10 STITCHES. PUNCTURE WOUNDS ON HER UP INS AND A COUPLE OF HER FINGERS AND SCRATCHES ON HER HEAD AND NECK.

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